Friends and Neighbors

The Little Falls theatre community theatre’s production of Into the Woods shows that there’s still plenty of creativity to be found in this material. It’s probably my favorite musical of all time, and I’ve seen more than a half-dozen productions of it in different capacities. This production, directed by Emma Ahlin, shows a great deal of inspiration and imagination, even if the incredibly meticulous nature of the direction leaves some of the performances by the actors behind.

This take on Into the Woods seems to exist primarily within the imagination of a young girl. The set is bright and colorful, styled like a child’s bedroom. The Narrator (Nora Vedder) opens up her toy box as she begins to tell the story, with the performers representing the dolls she removes from it. This is a very inspired perspective – one I’ve never seen before. I wonder if the Baker and his Wife represent the Narrator’s parents – that adds an interesting twist to the standard doubling of roles where Vedder also plays the Mysterious Man. However, right away we also get an example of the direction getting in the way of the performers. Nora Vedder has a wonderful singing voice as showcased in “Ever After” and “No More”, but her line delivery elsewhere in the show is very rushed. I get the sense that she was focusing on getting her lines out so she could make it to the next movement in her blocking (the character also operates a lot of props, such as Cinderella’s birds). This robs the delivery of the emotion the dialogue deserves, especially in her scenes as the Mysterious Man.

This is something I noticed in many parts of the show – the blocking is so precise and deliberate that while often very imaginative, it also makes the show feel less spontaneous, less lively. Compare this to the production I saw in Pequot Lakes a few weeks ago – that one had technical issues and was less formally ambitious, but the actors were truly bringing their own energy and imagination to the performances. The actors in this production are undeniably skilled, but with a few exceptions they seem more like… well… playthings than performers.

The actors who stood out to me the most were Abby Shnobrich (who also serves as Production Manager) as The Witch, Janna Idzerda as The Baker’s Wife, and Derik Wright & Eric Kalkbrenner as an uncharacteristically (and delightfully) dorky pair of Princes. All of these performers are able to find new life in their roles and don’t feel as if they’re being rushed. I don’t know if it was inherent to how their scenes were written or if the staging was different, but if the rest of the casts’ performances were allowed to slow down and breathe in the same way, we could have had the whole cast find ways to give performances that are as individually inspired as Ahlin’s overall directorial vision.

It may feel like I’m being overly critical, but it’s not often that I feel so aware of the mechanics of a show’s direction. Maybe it’s because I’m so familiar with Into the Woods as a property, or maybe it’s because the individual pieces are so good. Technically, the show was impeccable (a few mic issues in Act 2 aside). The set and lighting are beautifully done and there always seem to be new surprises popping in how the show is being staged. The blocking and choreography are well done (the exception being “First Midnight” which mostly consists of people walking rapidly back and forth across the stage) and the songs are all sung wonderfully. There’s no denying that this made me think harder about the show more than just about any other version I’ve seen, and even if I had some issues here and there, there’s undeniably value to that.

I stand by my belief that any production of Into the Woods is going to be worth going to, and despite my quibbles, the sheer creativity on display here absolutely makes this one worthy of anybody’s time.

INTO THE WOODS plays at Charles D. Martin Auditorium in Little Falls High School through August 9th.